gravityeyelids
Master Don Juan
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2013
- Messages
- 920
- Reaction score
- 192
I'm starting to feel like the years i went to college were completely wasted and now i'm behind people that went for STEM degrees or those that didn't even get a degree and instead just started building a resume.
I'm a recent grad with what amounts to a film degree. It's really a media production degree, which isn't as "bad" as a film degree. However, i'm learning that it's equally worthless because the skills i specialized in are not marketable at all. My skillset is in videography and directing, audio production for video, and video editing. It's equivelent to those who get a photography or photojournalism degree. They're fvcked. Nearly every photographer in existence works a side job as their main source of income (waiter, bartender, etc)
People that don't understand what my skillset is say things like "oh well lots of companies need people that are good with technology and can do websites and internet stuff" or "i hear graphic design is pretty popular" or "why don't you work for a TV station" or "can't you do something with apple or microsoft??". They dont understand that i DONT have a comp sci degree, i dont have experience in graphic design, broadcast television, engineering, coding, web design, anything like that.
I am extremely smart and capable but i feel like i fvcked myself over by choosing to be what amounts to a starving artist. I thought i was o-so clever and laughed my ass off all through college when i was shooting video and doing what i'm truly passionate about and loving every second while everyone else was miserable and bogged down with math and science and finance classes. Now i feel like karma is coming to bite me in the a$$. I have friends that are making massive amounts of money right out of college. My friend has a business degree and hes smart but not brilliant and makes thousands of dollars a month for a fvcking internship. In my field internships are not paid. Another friend is making upwards of $60,000 right off the bat because he got an engineering degree, which is among the most stable job markets out there.
I see people every day in my field (film) that work sometimes 70 hrs a week for little to no pay. They continually chide themselves on with mantras like "i'm doing what i love!" or "some day i'll be walking the red carpet", etc. They all seem blind to the fact that 95% of them are going to fail in this industry or wind up making almost no money. They move out to LA and post all these pictures of them in semi-famous places with semi-famous people....but it seems like they're just trying to rationalize with themselves that the film and music industries are fvcked and they put all their eggs into one basket for the sake of "passion" or "what they love" when in reality theres so much crushed dreams and failed potential.
Fvck that. I want to make money and be financially secure. I want to not feel like a loser. I want to be able to go to the bar and tell girls what i do without feeling like just another loser who has nothing going for him.
Here's the thing. I'm currently working as server at a restaurant making more money than i've made from any other job i've had (most of them were lame, minimum wage jobs). AND I LOVE IT. I love waiting tables at this place. I love the food industry, entertaining people, having an incentive to work for tips, working in a place where my co-workers are amazing and there's great music and tv's all over the place and people drinking. Being able to (on a good night) go in from 5pm-9pm and walk out with $80+ dollars in CASH. I hope to start bartending soon. I'm starting to think that this is a viable career path. I'm good at it and there's some waiters/bartenders working in high end establishments that make close to 100k/year. And there's also a massive amount of bartenders/waitresses that are overweight 40 year old single moms who barely make $25k/year. Is it crazy to think that i could gain more experience doing this type of thing and then maybe move up eventually to a much nicer place in 5 or 10 years and make bank? Sure it wouldn't have the social status saying im a bartender, but if i'm making more than 50-60k, then i really wouldnt care. But then the other side of me says "why the hell did i get a bachelor's and master's degree when i could have simply started working at these places at 19 and been higher up than i am now.
I've also flirted with the idea of going into something like real estate. I know this is long, but it's mostly just a rant for my own benefit. I need to write this out because it's driving me crazy. I don't expect a ton of people to read and respond to this, but if anyone has thoughts it'd be much appreciated.
I'm a recent grad with what amounts to a film degree. It's really a media production degree, which isn't as "bad" as a film degree. However, i'm learning that it's equally worthless because the skills i specialized in are not marketable at all. My skillset is in videography and directing, audio production for video, and video editing. It's equivelent to those who get a photography or photojournalism degree. They're fvcked. Nearly every photographer in existence works a side job as their main source of income (waiter, bartender, etc)
People that don't understand what my skillset is say things like "oh well lots of companies need people that are good with technology and can do websites and internet stuff" or "i hear graphic design is pretty popular" or "why don't you work for a TV station" or "can't you do something with apple or microsoft??". They dont understand that i DONT have a comp sci degree, i dont have experience in graphic design, broadcast television, engineering, coding, web design, anything like that.
I am extremely smart and capable but i feel like i fvcked myself over by choosing to be what amounts to a starving artist. I thought i was o-so clever and laughed my ass off all through college when i was shooting video and doing what i'm truly passionate about and loving every second while everyone else was miserable and bogged down with math and science and finance classes. Now i feel like karma is coming to bite me in the a$$. I have friends that are making massive amounts of money right out of college. My friend has a business degree and hes smart but not brilliant and makes thousands of dollars a month for a fvcking internship. In my field internships are not paid. Another friend is making upwards of $60,000 right off the bat because he got an engineering degree, which is among the most stable job markets out there.
I see people every day in my field (film) that work sometimes 70 hrs a week for little to no pay. They continually chide themselves on with mantras like "i'm doing what i love!" or "some day i'll be walking the red carpet", etc. They all seem blind to the fact that 95% of them are going to fail in this industry or wind up making almost no money. They move out to LA and post all these pictures of them in semi-famous places with semi-famous people....but it seems like they're just trying to rationalize with themselves that the film and music industries are fvcked and they put all their eggs into one basket for the sake of "passion" or "what they love" when in reality theres so much crushed dreams and failed potential.
Fvck that. I want to make money and be financially secure. I want to not feel like a loser. I want to be able to go to the bar and tell girls what i do without feeling like just another loser who has nothing going for him.
Here's the thing. I'm currently working as server at a restaurant making more money than i've made from any other job i've had (most of them were lame, minimum wage jobs). AND I LOVE IT. I love waiting tables at this place. I love the food industry, entertaining people, having an incentive to work for tips, working in a place where my co-workers are amazing and there's great music and tv's all over the place and people drinking. Being able to (on a good night) go in from 5pm-9pm and walk out with $80+ dollars in CASH. I hope to start bartending soon. I'm starting to think that this is a viable career path. I'm good at it and there's some waiters/bartenders working in high end establishments that make close to 100k/year. And there's also a massive amount of bartenders/waitresses that are overweight 40 year old single moms who barely make $25k/year. Is it crazy to think that i could gain more experience doing this type of thing and then maybe move up eventually to a much nicer place in 5 or 10 years and make bank? Sure it wouldn't have the social status saying im a bartender, but if i'm making more than 50-60k, then i really wouldnt care. But then the other side of me says "why the hell did i get a bachelor's and master's degree when i could have simply started working at these places at 19 and been higher up than i am now.
I've also flirted with the idea of going into something like real estate. I know this is long, but it's mostly just a rant for my own benefit. I need to write this out because it's driving me crazy. I don't expect a ton of people to read and respond to this, but if anyone has thoughts it'd be much appreciated.
